VP of Sales & Hospitality of Grand Cru Selections; Founder of Empire Estate Winery

Education is super important. If you can take courses for wine for spirits, it's very, very helpful, but the best experience is the practical experience. It's getting onto the floor of a restaurant and actually getting your sea legs. It's tasting dozens of wines at a time or working on different specs of cocktails. That really helps you to figure things out in a way that's practical. You can read a book about how to row a boat, but until you sit down and row the boat, you have no idea.

I really found a passion for wine because it comprises of a lot of things: obviously humans, mother nature, and the art and science to it. My brain's a bit wired to focus on both the technicals and the numbers of science, but also because I grew up as a classical musician, as a pianist, I also had the artistic side. I really love that with wine in particular, you can turn on or utilize both sides.

For those of you who are progressing in your careers or trying to dabble into wine and are not in it yet: express interest, talk to people who are in the profession already, ask them what's the best route to get started. People will get drawn to that.

A lot of times the best people are often the ones who maybe have less experience but have a pure passion, enthusiasm, and intelligence for the thing that they want to do.

I always encourage people to not be shy. Reach out to people in your professional industry, try to sit down and grab coffee with somebody whom you admire. There's nothing wrong with trying, even if it doesn't work or if a person is too busy. But if somebody is willing to make the time to sit with you, to chat, to taste wine, to talk about the hospitality industry, then they obviously see something in you. Our industry is relatively small, tight knit, and still young and burgeoning in the big scheme of things. We want good people in it.

Think about how much time and effort and how many hands and people that wine touches. It's so crucial in the restaurant industry and in our import/distribution business to honor and tell the story of all that hard work. Because if you, in the end, serve the wine at a bad temperature, or if you serve it in a glass that is dirty, or if you don't know the story or can't speak about where it came from, then it's a tremendous shame to the region and to the family and to the business that's been doing the work of the wines.

If you find yourself struggling, have a coffee, go have a cocktail or a beer with somebody. Interact with other humans. I guarantee the more you can engage with people, the more perspective and data points you get, and that will ultimately help you make a decision or figure out what the right path is.

Keep investing in the young, eager people who have less experience or no experience. Don't forget how important human connection and education and experiences are. Whether you're wine tasting or tasting dishes for a new menu at a restaurant, it's those moments that really get teams fired up... And the people who have little experience but have tremendous passion, they can learn all of it.